A Helping Hand
by RamaFan
Summary: Things don't ever turn out exactly as you planned them. Kim and Ron certainly did not, nor did Shego or Drakken. Here we find two people who end up complementing each other better than they ever thought possible.
1. Everything Unplanned

Well yes I know I haven't published anything in a while but I just had to put this out there. Lots of things going on in life; read my profile for more info if you're concerned. I did let somebody adopt my Harry Potter tale a while back but it doesn't look like he's done anything yet. I do plan to finish it one of these days, but inspiration and time are lacking.

Please read, review and enjoy.

I don't own any of this (Kim Possible stuff that is...yes I do own the story premise).

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**A Helping Hand**

**Chapter One - Everything Unplanned**

"Men...stupid, stupid, men." Shego growled and huffed as she stormed from the upper scale restaurant on the west side of downtown Go City.

Dressed in a form fitting knee length black dress she turned several heads as she exited. As her breathing calmed she looked around the street wondering what to do now.

This was her third date in a row that had ended with her storming from a restaurant. What was it about the men she had been dating that led them to believe asking her if she ever found her green skin 'erotic in a star trek kind of way' was a good idea over desert on a first date?!

She was only six blocks from home so she decided that it would be a good idea to blow off her steam by walking home; taking the path trough the park. If any muggers or other types happened upon her...well all the better. She smirked at that thought. How...fitting...it would be if she could blast a would-be criminal 100ft and slam her fists into his face for trying to lay a hand on her. It was something she wished to have done to the jerk back in the restaurant who had the gall to put his hand on her knee while asking her stupid questions. But she supposed that her recently taken status as a legit security expert would be called into question if she were to blast a man through a wall causing damage to a building and endangering other patrons lives.

It was a pleasant early October evening as she passed through the park which served to dull her temper some and as always she found herself comforted by the green surroundings the park offered. Soon the park would be dull and brown with the occasional patch of snow or ice but for a week or two more it was still mostly green.

About half way along, through the large stand of pines that bordered the north end of the park Shego came to a small clearing and a wide place in the path that had several benches. One one of them sat a lone homeless man...or at least she assumed he was homeless. He looked slightly tattered and had a large brown paper bag between his feet while he stared blankly towards the ground.

Normally she wouldn't take much notice of a homeless man but there was something that draw her attention to him. A familiarity that she felt more than saw as she approached him while walking along the footpath.

She stayed alert and studied the man as she approached; as she had always done when evaluating a potential threat. He did not seem to be as bad off as many of the other homeless she had seen; the ones who chose to live like they did rather than having been forced to. His clothes looked to be in decent shape, as if he's tried to keep them that way; and he seemed to have showered recently judging by the fact she couldn't smell him from her position 10 feet away.

The man was younger than most she was used to seeing, he had striking straw blond hair, a wiry build, and when she passed she caught a glimpse of brown eyes...and an oddly familiar face. His stare was directed at the ground and he did not ask for change like most of the homeless would. In fact he made no indication that he had seen Shego at all.

Having passed she continued towards the other side of the park thinking on why she had been so interested in that one homeless man. It was not as if she did not see them daily around the city. Eventually she let it go and continued towards her place...humming now; her mood significantly improved by the short walk.

* * *

Shego again found herself walking that same little path through the park nearly a month later. This time the tress had started to change; the grass was only holding on to the last remnants of green and there was a bite to the air that said the cold snap would soon turn to snow.

In the past month she had been busy and in response to her last bad date had delved into her fledgling business full bore. In the first year she had had to work very hard to get clients and her reputation put many off of trusting her. But all things change and in last two years her reputation had garnered her nearly more jobs than she had time to do. In fact she had the curious position of having to turn down good work on occasion because she was busy enough for two people.

As she walked the path again she reminisced about the past decade of her life. She would have never guessed she would again become a hard working 'productive member of society' that she had been in her youth while earning her degree at Go City University. She had sworn off anything but 'easy and fun' money years ago and had held fast to that for the many years she served as mercenary on into her time as Drakken's 'sidekick'.

That thought made her face curl into a sneer of disgust. She had often though of herself as a 'partner'; it was she who usually got all the equipment and resources together for Drakken. Even after they had started dating he would often 'slip' into villain mode and refer to her as 'the sidekick'...something that really 'ground her beans'. It was one of the reasons she decided dating the man was not the right way to go. And that tangent now brought her to another...just what _had _happened to 'the Princess' in the past few years.

She had followed the gossip rag articles on the girl as it was one of her own guilty pleasures; though she would kill anyone who ever dared suggest such a thing in public. If they were to be believed Kim had caught her own 'sidekick' stalking her while spending a romantic evening with her new boyfriend following a heated breakup. She had since been linked to several celebrities after graduating from some school in Paris a few years ago and becoming a high profile investigator for some alphabet organization. Most of it stunk of Kim Possible in every way but she would bet a small mint that Kim and Ron's 'breakup' was only a half-truth our an outright lie.

Now that she was on the topic, she sometimes wondered what _had_ happened to the buffoon...if only out of professional sidekick-to-sidekick courtesy. Without his link to Kim he dropped out of the news faster than balloon-boy had been inflated. Not that she cared any about either the princess or buffoon...they were just former pains-in-the-ass from her life anyway.

It was about this point in her thoughts that she happened to again enter the small clearing near the center of the park that she had been in about a month ago. And there again sat the same homeless man as before.

Again Shego was struck by the same familiarity she had experienced before upon her approach. He looked slightly worse than before: a little dirtier, his clothes a little more ragged and his unshaven stubble proved that he had not gotten a to shave or shower for a few days. Despite that, his gaze was not as vacant and he seemed to be watching two birds fighting over something in the grass a few feet away. Walking past she saw that, despite the fact that he didn't speak, he clearly saw at least her feet and legs and was following their progress out of his vision with his eyes; much like she would do if sitting where he was evaluating a threat.

She glanced back again to make sure he wasn't going to follow her from the clearing but was surprised to find him not just sitting but his head was up and he was openly staring at her with a look of confusion on his face. This made her pause and she turned slightly to look at him and again a wave a recognition washed over her as a she more clearly saw his face. This was certainly someone she knew...but who? Just as the tendrils of an idea stared to emerge in her mind he looked back to the birds again, breaking her concentration.

Again she stared to walk out of the clearing but then her mind snapped the pieces into place and her eyes widened suddenly. She knew the man! She knew him well, in fact.

Snapping her body around she quickly walked back towards him stopping just out of arms length crossing her arms across her front while looking down at him and waiting for him to look up. He did a moment later, not just confusion on his features but fear as well. He knew her and he was afraid of what she might do to him.

"I'm not here to hurt you Stoppable."


	2. Man in the Rain

Just another note. The inspiration from this story comes from several places, one of them being: Kim Possible: Ron's Dinner by Desslock3. It's a nice little fic that he has been working on for a while. I have decided to take this in a different direction but I thought I would give him a nod for getting those creative juices flowing.

I'm not going to promise any regular update schedule but I have planned to make this fic fairly short and quick; so I'll be developing the plot, direction, etc... quickly.

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**Chapter Two - Man in the Rain**

"What on earth are you doing out here?" Shego queried while looking down at one of the last persons she ever expected to see sitting homeless on a park bench.

"Uhh...Shego...I...well I haven't seen you in a while." Ron evaded. She grunted and huffed frustrated by his lack of answer.

"That's not what I asked. Why are you out here?"

"Not spying on you if that's what you're implying." Ron muttered looking down at the paper bag in which he kept the few things he owned. A toothbrush, hairbrush, some toothpaste, deodorant and soap as well as a few pictures of his former 'family', his ID, and the many legal papers he got upon being released.

Shego sighed...for someone she remembered only a few years ago as being a loud mouth who rarely ever stopped talking it seemed he was being awfully tight lipped.

"No, that's not what I was implying. I've seen you out here before Stoppable; you look a little worse for the wear. I'm asking how you ended up sleeping on a park bench and living out of a bag." She growled, cutting straight to the matter at hand.

"It's none of your business. I've had it bad enough as it is could you just leave me alone...or go ahead an beat me up or whatever." Ron sighed...he tired quickly of explaining these things to people and he really didn't want to get into it with the former villain. He reasoned that she would take this opportunity to do as much damage to him just out of revenge for past defeats and he really just wanted to get it over with.

Shego growled in response. She had already told him she wasn't here to pick a fight, but she was quickly rethinking that position in light of his uncooperative attitude. Tamping her anger down by taking a few deep breaths she shifted on her feet.

Did she even want to know what had happened to Ron Stoppable to leave him living on a park bench in Go City? Even if she did; did she want to know bad enough to dig it out of him? Besides it's not like she had ever given damn about him before. He was a former foe; and not her main focus as far as foes go in the first place. Besides, he didn't seem to want to talk with her anyway. With a dismissal huff she turned and stalked off in the direction she was headed to begin with. If he didn't want to talk to her than she wasn't about to waste her time with the buffoon.

* * *

Shego again growled to herself while aggressively tapping the keyboard with the tips of her fingers.

Despite having resolved not to get involved and that she didn't care what had happened to Ron Stoppable she had not be able to shake her thoughts away from the young man all afternoon. He had looked so awful sitting there alone. He _had_ saved the world more than a few times, and despite the fact that the media never seemed to take notice of him surly someone would have taken him in if he had gotten himself into some sort of financial bind.

This was a guy she had watched throw _two_ eight foot tall aliens into their ship while it skipped along the stratosphere nearly a mile away using his own brand of super-powers. Surly _someone_ would want him on their side and have taken him in. The US government had been after her brothers and herself for years to 'contribute' to their understanding of super powers and / or to join some sort of elite fighting force. Any country, terrorist organization, super-hero team, or even private industry would literally probably find an arm-and-a-leg to give for access to similar powers as well.

So when she had returned a couple of hours later to her apartment she had resolved to dig just a little bit and find out what she could about what had happened to Ron Stoppable.

At first glance there were no articles about Ron other than that small mention of his arrest some four years ago. Before that there was the occasional mention about him with Possible but nothing except the mention of his name, which was wrong half the time anyway.

After an hour of sifting through news articles and creepy fan sites dedicated not just to Kim but herself as well; Shego decided a quick search of public records was a better way to go and quickly found more than she thought she would in the form of public court documents.

Ron Stoppable had in-fact been arrested four years ago following his 'stalking' of Possible, but that was not what he was arrested for. He had been arrested after getting into a fight at a bar just off the campus of Middleton Community college with three other students. He'd apparently beaten them handily according to the police report but had been brought up on assault charges not a week later. The kicker was that he had plead guilty by reason of mental illness or instability. Now that was something...and it was something fishy.

Digging a little more it seemed the court transcripts and sentencing were all sealed but Shego got the picture clear enough. With everything Stoppable had seen just in his fights with Drakken there was no way he had gone 'crazy' enough to attack anybody. Besides Shego knew that despite the fact that he had beaten those two aliens before, Ron Stoppable just didn't have the capacity to attack anybody without more than enough just cause.

Sitting back she took a glance out the window of the office of her Go City apartment. A cold rain had started just as she had gotten home earlier. Usually she liked to watch the rain coming down from the warmth and comfort of the large sofa sitting in her living room with a hot cup of green tea and her favorite gossip magazine. Today, however, all she could seem to think about was the fact she had left her former enemy sitting homeless and alone on a park bench not half a mile away.

The irony of the fact that she had been the villain, doing wrong and evil and was now sitting in her spacious and warm apartment; while the hero was alone in a park down the street, did not escape her either. It was one of the reasons she had abandoned being a good-guy a long time ago. The world did not reward hero's. They gave the ones they liked accolades, like Kim Possible, but they did not _reward_ those that sacrificed and expected nothing in return. Ron Stoppable had never earned a penny for saving the world several times over. He had never gotten special treatment, or had the media clamor for an interview; nor had he ever been recognized by strangers on the street. And while he may have whined a time or two about it he never truly expected it or demanded it. And if you don't expect reward you don't get it, in spite of all the fairy tales that said you did.

* * *

"Can I help you?"

"What do you mean 'Can I help you?'; you're the one out here in the rain."

"Well you were looking at me like you wanted something." Ron replied looking up at Shego's face through the hood of her green coat and beneath the large black umbrella she carried. The look on her face told him she was thinking about asking him something; but why she was back out here to see him in the rain he couldn't comprehend.

"Look if you want info on where to find Kim, I can't help you." Ron finally said after a moment of her standing there in silence looking at him. He thought she might just be looking to start a fight or she was looking to get even with Kim for something...at least that is what he would guess based on his past experience with this woman.

Shego signed again a long suffering sigh. Had she really been that bad when she was working for Drakken that every time she saw this kid he was thinking all she wanted to do was hurt him or someone he knew? Perhaps...but that wasn't now.

"Ron I'm not here to fight you or to get revenge on Kim for anything. I'm here...well...do you have anywhere to go? It's supposed to get cold tonight...this rain's supposed to turn to ice by the morning."

She couldn't believe she was doing this. This was Ron Stoppable. The odd Jewish kid from Middleton who had helped foil no less than a hundred of her and Drakken's plots for world domination over the years AND had been responsible for directly causing her injury or pain in at least twenty of those incidents.

"I...I usually try and find a place in a shelter but they fill up pretty quick. I was planning on going soon...it's still early but they'll be opening up. If I don't get a spot in one of those...well the alleyway up the street has a nice door pocket I can get in...if crazy Charlie's not there."

Shego nodded. At least he had sense enough to try and seek out a place to go. She stood for a moment longer before she sat down beside him on the bench and let the umbrella cover both of them mostly.

"So how'd you end up like this." An odd place and time for this conversation but she wasn't about to help him out unless she knew he didn't have rabies.

"What?"

"How. did. you. end. up. living. out. here? And did you loose your hearing in the process, Stoppable?"

"Uh...no. Why are you talking to me? Why do you want to know?"

"Look before I offer to help you I just want to know if you're going to attack me or if you've lost it." Shego ground out. She was getting tired of his defensive and tight lipped attitude again. At this point she'd rather have the gullible, clueless kid back rather than the paranoid skeptic he seemed to be now.

She did notice his face go rigid at the mention of him having mental problems. Apparently his plea had been accepted.

"I know about your arrest. Everything else was sealed; and I wasn't about to start breaking federal laws just to get a look at the rest of your records."

"You, not break laws? That's a new concept."

"Stoppable look; Drakken and I went legit after the alien thing. He found out there was allot more money in government projects and I decided to take a break from the cackling-mad-scientist-with-over-complicated-plans crowd for a while. I haven't even gotten so much as a speeding ticket since the pardons were issued."

"Huh...wow, that's great. Guess our roles are reversed now."

"STOPPABLE...look just talk to me. I'm not here to take advantage of you or start a fight. Tell me what happened."

Ron sighed and looked at her. It was very strange to have Shego of all people sitting here with him in the rain trying to peal out of him what had happened over the last few years. He hadn't talked with anybody about it in a while and thought perhaps it wouldn't be so bad to tell her. Talking had never encouraged anyone to help him before, but she couldn't do much more to hurt him than had already happened. Besides she was the closest thing to a friend from the old days he had seen in the last four years.

"Well...I guess...It all started on a Tuesday..."


	3. Tales of Madness

Thanks for all your reviews. They keep a writer going. Don't be shy if you don't like it either. I accept criticism, thoughtfully written, too. You may have noticed I have atrocious proofreading skills. If anybody is interested in being my Beta let me know!

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**Chapter Three - Tales of Madness**

"Things didn't go well after graduation between Kim and I...they did at first but, later..."

"Doy...didn't take a Possible's rocket scientist Dad to figure that out."

"Do you want to hear this or not?"

"Don't get snappish buff...uh...Stoppable."

"Anyway. The first year of college went well. I was getting good grades, Kim went to Paris to study and I visited as often as I could; everything was great. Then...well then Kim decided not to come home for the summer and every time I mentioned coming to visit she just blew it off and suggested I come some other time. Things went like that for a while and then the next year she stopped answering many of my calls. When she came home for Christmas I thought things would go back to normal, but she kept finding reasons to blow me off even at home. I got worried it was me so I decided that to put the spark back into our relationship by showing up for a surprise romantic evening on our three year anniversary in April."

"I take it that type of thing was important to Possible."

"Yeah you could say that. She did get me a gift for our 'half-a-versary'. Who's ever heard of a

'half-a-versary'?" Ron gesticulated with his arms...a spark of his old self shining through.

Ron was always a little weird; but likable in a goofy way. Kind of what Shego had liked about Drakken when he wasn't acting like an ass.

"I show up at her apartment. I've got the roses, the gift, reservations at a restaurant, I'm dressed up...the whole she-bang." Here Ron's face twisted into a look of disgust with perhaps a bit of self pity thrown in.

"So I knock on the door and it's not Kim that opens it. It's some French dude dressed only in boxers who asks, first in French, then in bad English, who I am. I say: 'I'm sorry I must have the wrong apartment, I'm looking for the apartment of Kim Possible.' He replies: 'No you don't have the wrong place.' then calls back into the apartment for Kim saying 'Cheri, there is some American here for you'. Then my girlfriend, the woman I've known for sixteen years comes out dressed only in a sheet."

"Harsh...I was, or am evil and I wouldn't even do that." Shego remarked, her face twisting into a disgusted look that almost matched Ron's own.

"I know...anyway I just shutdown and stood there staring at her...and she did the same. I guess my instincts and mad running away skills kicked in and the next thing I know I'm just running...running as far away as I can go. Eventually I stopped outside this little restaurant and spent most of the evening there just kind of comatose not wanting to think about it. I found a hotel and spent the night, then headed back on the first flight I could get the next day. By the time I landed Kim, her parents, and Wade had called probably a hundred times, but I just couldn't deal with it so I went back to the dorm at school."

Here Ron took a small breather.

Shego shifted closer to help get the umbrella over both of them. Ron gave her an odd look and she just smirked and lit a hand warning him against reading too much into what _could_ have been a comforting gesture.

"I was in a bad place after that. Kim had been my best friend and my girlfriend for a long time. I just didn't know how to deal with that. We hadn't even had sex and she jumps into the sack with some French guy she barely knew instead of me. I thought we...well...I thought we might get married and all. If I hadn't seen it I wouldn't have believed it either."

"Could you have been wrong? You didn't actually see them doing it." Shego asked, she was on the verge of finding out Possible wasn't a saint and she didn't want it ruined by any trick scenarios.

"No...She left me a bunch of messages trying to explain. First she said it 'wasn't what I thought'; then she calls back bawling about how she was sorry and that she shouldn't have let it happen and that she was wrong and all this and that. Later that week this picture comes up in one of the tabloids of me and Kim standing there. They spun the story like I was the one stalking her and I just...well...I didn't handle that well either."

Shego couldn't help but be satisfied that Possible had 'fallen from grace' with her closest friend. She had long known that their teamwork was what kept them in the 'hero-and-villain' game more than any one skill of Kim Possible.

"So, I decide on that Saturday I'll go out and find a bar that will let me in, since I was almost twenty-one anyway it wasn't that hard. I dropped Rufus off at my parents and headed out before they had a chance to try and talk me out of it."

"I know that feeling..."

"Really?"

"You don't get points for being a green super-powered freak in high-school or college...guy's tend to leave you places when they find out you have a short temper and can beat the crap out of them."

"Hmm...never thought of that. Sorry to hear that I didn't know that you had it that hard."

"Get on with it Stoppable, it's cold and I'd like to get back home sometime tonight."

Ron started, looking back at Shego. She was closer than a moment ago, and it had gotten colder than when he started. He hadn't noticed he had been so wrapped up in telling someone, _anyone _that was actually willing to listen to his story. He did now notice his dirty wet clothes and the cold seeping into his skin...though he was more used to it than the woman beside him.

"So I find the place and have a few drinks. It's right on the strip next to MCC and I thought the happy people might cheer me up. Anyway these three dudes form the College's only fraternity walk in and spot me. I've had problems with them before but apparently they saw that stupid tabloid article and decide I need a good beating for 'stalking' Kim. I tell them I don't want to fight and dodge the first few punches I can, but...well...three on one odds aren't that great. So I decide I could use just a little monkey power and bam! each one goes down with a single hit."

"Lightweights..." Shego mutters, while grinning at the idea of a good bar fight.

"Yeah...so the cops get there pretty soon and I just let them haul me in. I figured I might be able to slide if I could get officer Hobble to remember me but I've never been that lucky. I spent the next week in jail with them telling me they are holding me to 'cool down' so I don't attack 'those fine, upstanding young men'. I came to find out that these frat guys all have some connections or their dads do and the next thing I know they are mirandizing me and telling me I'm under arrest for assault. The next morning I'm in court for a bench trial with this sleazy court appointed lawyer....you know that Hank Perkins guy?"

"Huh...made a half way decent villain...he was sleazy though."

"So he tells me the best shot I've got is to plead insanity. Like I said I wasn't in the best of shapes so he convinces me that my depression over Kim is driving me nuts and that it's actually true."

"And you believed him!? Are you really that gullible Stoppable?"

"Hey...I really did fell like I was going insane. Everything I cared about had just blown up in my face; even after I had put in a lot of hard work to get where I was. My parents wouldn't take my calls from lockup and all of a sudden I've got a bunch of lawyers AND the judge after me!"

Ron exclaimed heatedly. Nobody had let him get this far in his story and he needed to let this out. He wasn't wrong...he had been misled and railroaded.

As close as Shego was sitting trying to keep warm she rocked back at his outburst and brought up a lit hand in case she really needed to defend herself...this was certainly not the same Ron Stoppable she remembered.

After a silent moment when he stared her straight in the eye not backing down she let the hand drop and scooted back closer to him...perhaps a little backbone couldn't hurt him.

"Go on Stoppable."

"The judge accepted the plea and they decide I should spend six months in the loony bin; and I'd be released after that." Ron replied with an air of finality. His earlier bravado was fading and he didn't want to talk about the rest of it.

"Come on Ron you've said this much...what happened over the next four years?" Shego prodded. More gently than he had ever herd or thought she could speak; even when she had been the bubbly 'Miss. Go'. He sighed but decided he'd come to far to start pulling punches now.

"They sent me off. When I got there the Doctor assigned to my case took a disliking to me; decided he'd use me as an experiment and started stuffing me full of drugs."

Here Ron did get that glazed far off look back. She imagined that things had been worse than that but apparently he would was not going to go into detail.

"Drugs can do odd things to you...they can make you insane. I didn't know what was happening or why I did things. I was paranoid...sometimes violent. At some point he found out about my powers and decided to get me to use them. I broke a few orderlies bones...and they broke a few of mine in retaliation later. Eventually he got bored and tried to give me a lethal dose of pills...tired to make it look like I stole them. They caught him and pumped my stomach; then decided to cover it all up. By then I'd been there nearly two years. I spent a while detoxing from the drugs and then they took their sweet time evaluating weather I was ready to leave or not. They wanted to send me the message that they could keep me there if they wanted, to shut me up. Three years after having been sentenced they dumped me with one set of new clothes on me, an ID, fifty dollars, a package of legal papers, and a bus ticket to Go City just outside the Upperton City limits."

Shego shook her head. These were the people who he had fought to protect many times. As a villain it was understood that she might do something like that...but even she wouldn't have tortured anyone with medication. Hell, every time they had captured Kim and Ron she had actually been reasonably certain they would make it out with minimal damage.

"I took the bus since I couldn't walk home and then ended up here in Go City. I called allot of people trying to get some help once I got here. Mom and Dad were said they wouldn't risk my being in the house with Hana and the Possibles don't answer numbers they don't recognize after Kim started to attract stalkers. Most of my friends have moved out and have either gotten married or started having kids and don't want a crazy guy around, and some of their families have even completely moved since then. I've been here ever since. I do odd jobs for food and have tried to get steady work allot of times but not having an address usually keeps me out of even the most basic jobs."

Shego's face was blank for a while, this was allot to process, even if he had given out just the bare outline. Eventually she reached some sort of decision and rose to her feet.


	4. A Helping Hand

Ok, so this thing might be longer than I thought I'm still not sure of where we're going to end up yet. I have a vague idea but nothing set in stone. This is one of those 'bridge' chapters so the lack of 'action' is probably going to annoy some of you...don't worry...it's coming yet.

Thanks for all the reviews so far!

* * *

**Chapter Four - A Helping Hand**

"Are you sure this is OK....really I don't want to intrude and all."

"Quit being modest Stoppable. I _will_ throw you back out on the street if you keep it up."

"You don't really need to do this you know, a shelter was fine...I'm not exactly the type of person you want..."

Ron halfheartedly protested again but cut himself off as the green skinned woman threw him a harsh look. One that very much reminded him of when Kim used to get peeved with something he was doing.

He looked around the room for a moment as Shego dropped the bag she had been carrying on the small bench at the foot of the bed and left for a moment.

It was a grand room compared to anything he had seen in the last four years. Contained within was a double bed with soft looking sheets and pillows. A bedside table with a lamp, a dresser with a mirror, a small bench at the end of the bed for putting on ones shoes, and a small closet in a corner. The room, as well as the whole apartment had black-stained hardwood floors and crisp white walls with green accented artwork. The bed sheets were even a rich forest green. Much of the furniture he had seen was either black-stained wood or stainless steel and glass; but this room seemed to be an exception. The furniture was a rich deep brown but it was only barely noticeable in the warm light from the overhead lamp above.

After he had completed telling her what had happened to him over the last four years Shego had suggested he come and let her buy him something to eat. Reluctantly he had accepted; if only because he was hungry and cold. Ron had never had much in the way of personal pride but over the last year he had learned that the poorer you are the more uneasy of taking handouts you become; yet at the same time you are also more appreciative. At least that held true for him. He'd take a helping hand if offered genuinely but it made his stomach turn when he would just rather them give him a job than a free sub sandwich. He was thankful, but his pride would suffer less if he could provide for himself.

After they had left the diner they had made their way to a close by 'Urban Smarty-Mart'; something Ron understood to be a recent addition to their line of stores.

Ron had tired to get a job at the store soon after he had arrived in go city, but even with his connection to Martin Smarty things had not gone well. Martin had gotten directly involved and told Ron in brief phone conversation that, while he was sympathetic to Ron's situation, with his record of mental illness he just couldn't afford to risk hiring him. The information about his 'incarceration' may have not made the papers but someone had made sure everybody important in Ron's life had been made aware.

At the store Shego had drug him around and held up clothes to him. He knew what she was doing but a preemptive look from her was enough to to keep him silent. They had gotten quite the faces from several patrons, probably because of Ron's appearance added to the fact that a green woman was literally dragging him around, but stares weren't new to either of them.

Eventually Shego led them to the checkout counter where Ron's stomach curled as he watched her pay for three sets of clothes, some bathroom essentials, and a new set of dark green towels.

Ron had assumed she might find him a hotel room for the night and leave him be, having 'done her good deed', but she had continued walking allot further than the nearest cheap hotel. A couple of blocks away from the park they arrived at her three-bedroom apartment. And now here he stood.

* * *

"Stoppable, hand me out those old clothes so I can burn them!" Shego called trough the closed bathroom door.

On her orders Ron had been in there for nearly an hour before she heard the shower stop and she assumed he stepped out.

The door slipped open a crack and out came his old cloths, wrapped in a plastic bag she had given him for the purpose. Despite the bag she still wrinkled her nose before stuffing them in another plastic bag and putting them with the other garbage that she would have Ron take to the trash chute down the hall a little later.

She still didn't know why she was doing this. At first she had only intended to take him to dinner and then give him a few bucks for a stay in a motel; if only to assuage her, admittedly small, conscience. A conscience which was one of several traits she had seemed to re-develop over the past few years. She didn't understand why but maybe it was age, or perhaps she was just tired of living the 'evil' life; in any case she just seemed to get mad a little less easily and a be a little more compassionate these days. A a result Ron Stoppable was here and for some reason she had resolved to let him stay at her apartment while he looked for a job.

"Shego...uh, Shego." Ron asked, startling her out of her musings as her entered the kitchen to find her standing there over the trash pile.

"Oh...take _your_ trash down the hall to the trash chute. It's to the right about half-way down." She bit out towards Ron while waving dismissively at the bags, watching as Ron hefted the three bags and headed out the door.

The change wasn't too dramatic but he was better than a few hours ago. Less pale from a full meal and clean shaven he looked closer to how she remembered him. His shaggy hair still needed a good trim and his face and body were still on the thin side, but many of the other changes she could see had nothing to do with being homeless but more with age and hardship.

Gone were the soft curves of youth in his face and his features had taken on the more angular look of a grown man. He was taller than he used to be, maybe six foot. He had several light scars on his face and his eyes had a darker, more guarded presence than ever before.

On the whole Shego mused he wouldn't be a too bad looking guy once he filled out again, but she wondered what he hadn't told her about in his time at that 'hospital'...and maybe if it wasn't a mistake to bring him back here.


	5. Domesticated

Note: Don't expect updates often or soon. I'm swamped with preparing for my ARE (Architectural Registration Exam); one down, six to go. Hope everyone likes! The action will really begin next chapter.

* * *

**Chapter 5 - Domesticated**

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?"

"Well...I thought since you were letting me stay that I'd do some cooking...to...um...repay you..."

"By destroying my kitchen?!"

"I'm not destroying it; I'm using it. Something you seem unaccustomed to doing judging by the dust on this baking sheet."

"Stoppable I'm about a second from throwing you back out into that park I found you in!"

Shego snapped back as she surveyed her kitchen that had been so organized and shiny. Her frown deepened at the spots of mess that now adorned her counters and cook top. She'd never been the 'homemaker' sort and never put much stock in cooking besides toast in the morning and the occasional boiling of water for various things. Hell, half the stuff she owned she had gotten as housewarming gifts and didn't even know how to work them.

"Just trust me I'll get everything cleaned up once I'm done. If you don't like what I've cooked than I'll never do it again; alright?" Ron smirked as Shego stared him down for questioning her. Her eyes narrowed at him as he stared back in a silent bargain, and she couldn't help but think he was ballsy for it.

It had been two weeks since she had brought 'the stray' to stay at her place and, till now, he had been a polite house-guest. He cleaned up after himself...as much as a man did anyway; put the toilet seat down...most of the time, was fairly quiet, and had been looking for a job. He waited until the evenings to get online with her computer when she wasn't using it to apply over the internet but during the day he had been doing old fashioned pavement pounding. He even had a couple of on the spot interviews but nothing had panned out yet.

"Alright Stoppable, but if everything isn't how I left it this morning..." Shego let that hang as she lit a hand and buzzed Ron's throat with a shot that sizzled harmlessly upon the stainless steel back-splash behind him.

Ron flinched as he got the message and she smirked triumphantly as she turned and sauntered into the living room with a little extra swing in her hips. She still had it.

* * *

"Well I gotta say Stoppable, for once, I'm actually impressed by you." Shego announced with a slight wave towards their just begun steak dinner.

Ron was seated across from her at the small dining table in her apartment that was usually piled with reports and client files. Since she had never done much cooking she had not seen a reason to get a larger one, but at this moment she couldn't help but feel the table size made this dinner more intimate than she was entirely comfortable with.

For the occasion Ron had cleaned the table, carefully stacking her files in the office, and set it with the one crisp white tablecloth that she owned. To one side there was a small glass with a lit candle in it and each place was set for a 'proper' dinner...something she couldn't remember having outside of a restaurant since before the meteor strike had changed her family.

Still it had looked nice enough that she had retrieved a bottle of red wine from her small stash and was now lazily sipping on a glass, while carefully and systematically enjoying the meal Ron had prepared.

"What do you mean 'for once'? I've been impressive more times than that!" Ron exclaimed back, smiling slightly, indicating he knew she was just teasing.

"I wouldn't count loosing your pants all the time as an 'impressive skill'."

Ron blushed at the reminder of his past 'pants related problems' and ducked his head back towards his meal. While he knew she was again teasing, it was an especially embarrassing reminder coming from a female as attractive as Shego was.

"So where did you get all this anyway? Not that I don't appreciate it, but I gotta ask did you charge it to me?" She pressed on while arching and eyebrow, still smirking.

"One of the places I applied needed some errands run and I've done odd jobs for the owner before. He doesn't have enough business to employ me but I earned a little money and thought...well...I thought it might be nice to thank you for helping me out..."

She smiled slightly and nodded in acceptance of his thanks; she had to admit the guy really could cook.

* * *

"So...I know I've only been here a couple of weeks, but I gotta ask what's happened with you over the past few years?" Ron asked as he cleared the plates after both of them had finished their main courses.

Things had been busy the past two weeks he had been here. He had immediately jumped into trying to find a job and Shego had been surprisingly at ease with letting him come and go as he pleased. Besides talking the night she had 'retrieved' him from the park they had spoken relatively little other than the few short conversations in the mornings and evenings.

He had figured out that Shego now had her own business she ran as some sort of security consulting firm that kept her busy most of the time. Some days she would leave in the mornings and return late at night. Others she would sequester herself in her office most of the day.

Shego blinked at him and furrowed her brow while taking a sip of her wine before answering.

"Well, I already told you I'm out of the villain game and that Drakken also jumped ship. After the whole 'Lowardian' thing I started to think that it was time for a changer of pace. For awhile I stayed with Dr. D after he started working for the government just freeloading off him...but I got more bored than usual and decided to split. I spent some time just relaxing and then ended up back here in Go City and decided to start my own security firm."

"How'd that happen?"

"The security firm thing?...Well, I ran into a person I knew in college that works for a big company. After talking a bit she tells me about these security breaches they are having...she wanted to know if it was me. I got a little angry and told her under no uncertain terms it was not me, but that 'I could run circles around whoever it is'. She mentioned that if I was interested, her company might be willing to hire me to test their security systems so they can stop whoever was stealing from them. I thought it over and it sounded like fun to me. I could test out their stuff and steal things all legit, so long story short; here I am."

"That's...succinct."

Shego nodded as he walked out to retrieve whatever else he had smuggled away in her kitchen.

"So what happened with you and Drakken? I though you two were dating." Ron asked casually as he rounded the counter back into the kitchen; timing the question so that he might take cover behind a wall if needed...he may be rusty but that was not excuse for stupidity.

"Anybody ever tell you that you have a knack for saying the wrong thing at the wrong times?" Shego bit out while she considered his question. It had been two weeks since he had started staying with her and Drakken was someone he was used to seeing her with...she had to admit she had wondered why he hadn't' asked sooner.

Following her response Ron warily ventured back into the room holding the dessert he had prepared earlier and noticed Shego eying him with a baleful glare as he rounded the corner back into the dining area across from the kitchen.

"A couple of times..." Ron mumbled

"Look...You told me about the situation with you and Possible, so I feel obligated to return the favor...just NOT NOW." She grumbled as he set a dessert dish in front of her. He looked thoughtful for a moment but seemed to assent to that reasoning and decided to change the subject.

"My patented 'Seven Layers of Heaven!" Ron declared proudly as he plopped his lanky frame back into his chair across from her grinning.

"Don't take this the wrong way, sidekick, but I don't really know if I can eat much more." She declared sitting back sipping the last of her wine. As she let Ron's earlier question fade from her mind she eyed the dessert from afar.

Shego had rarely been so content in life as she was now. The wine and good food had dulled her senses so that she felt surrounded in a warm fuzzy full feeling that made the hard wooden chair she was sitting in one of the most comfortable spots she could remember in a long time, while the dimmed lighting and candles made just slightly sleepy and eased her tired mind by blocking out other distractions.

The odd 'too intamate' feeling that she had started dinner with had worn away as Ron had chattered on about is latest escapades in the 'great job search' and been replaced with the sensation of catching up with an old friend. She distractedly realized that Ron Stoppable might actually be considered something close considering the time they had known each other. She had begun working for Drakken just as they entered high-school and saw both him and Possible on almost a weekly bases for the next four-and-a-half years or so. Add to the fact both of them had done 'fact-finding' about the others and they knew her brothers and really he and Possible weren't far off.

Languidly she let her eyes wander down to the dessert again as Ron just smiled and started in on his. It did look good...one or two bites might not hurt...

"I might just have to keep you around just to make this..." Shego mumbled quietly as Ron grinned slightly across from her.


End file.
